Are you VIP or atleast Reward Tier 4?
No, but I don't remember the game ever saying that you need to be VIP to earn Merits (which given that it mentions that for Inventions, the Auction House and just about everything else you need to be VIP to get you'd think it would.)
It's listed in the Paragon Rewards window at tier 4.
I'm not really sure WHY Vanguard Merits are gated behind tier 4, but they are.
FYI, more information at the wiki here. I'll quote the passage from Level 4:
Quote:
| Owning 8 Reward Tokens grants the following: Earn Reward Merits, Earn Vanguard Merits (subject to Prerequisites), Increased Inf cap of 2 Billion per character, Play Mission Architect with Rewards Drops, Medium Inspirations Drop, Lifetime Auction House License, +3 Salvage Inventory, +3 Vault Inventory, +1 Recipe Inventory, +1 Auction House Slot |
Leader of Legion of Valor/Fallen Legion (Victory server)
http://legionofvalor.guildportal.com / http://fallenlegion.guildportal.com
StainedGlassScarlet - L50 Spines/Inv Scrapper | Badges: 1,396
Avatar detail taken from full-size piece by Douglas Shuler here
I've just done the whole 'Join the Vanguard' arc and gotten the 'Member of Vanguard' badge but I'm still not getting any tokens for the missions I do or the Rikti I kill.